Currents

“Emergencies can hit without warning, and the aftermath can affect small businesses and schools the most,” says Dominick Tolli, Vice President of Preparedness for the American Red Cross. The good news is that pre-planning tools exist to enable businesses, ­organizations and individuals to measure how ready they are to deal with ­emergencies. Check out the […]

The Environmental Protection Agency ­tightened the ozone pollution standard from 75 parts per billion to 70 parts per billion, a move the agency says will protect public health and leave only 14 counties out of compliance by 2025. Ozone, a gas created when volatile organic compounds or nitrogen oxides mix with sunlight, can lead to […]

Two generation and transmission cooperatives ­serving distribution ­cooperatives in Illinois are adding solar farms to their generation portfolios. Prairie Power, Inc. ­dedicated two 500 kW solar farms in October, and Hoosier Energy had an open house at a 1-megawatt solar farm in September. The Hoosier Energy solar farm is the second of 10 solar farms […]

In early August, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final Clean Power Plan rule, a rule limiting the carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. While the rule is 1,560 pages long and complicated, in general it is designed to reduce coal-fired ­generation, while promoting the increased use of renewable energy, like wind […]

Several Illinois Touchstone Energy ­cooperatives showed attendees at the world’s fair of agriculture, the 62nd Farm Progress Show in Decatur, how to save energy and be safe around electricity. Attendees from across the country and the world were able to check out the “Energy Efficiency Wall” with insulation and air sealing examples. The ­cooperative energy […]

In August, Hoosier Energy announced plans to ­construct the Cabin Creek renewable energy ­project, a 4-megawatt landfill gas facility, at the Randolph Farms Landfill. The renewable energy plant will be the fourth landfill methane gas (LMG) facility for the electric power supply cooperative. Cabin Creek is part of Hoosier Energy’s strategy of ­furthering its all-of-the-above, […]

The U.S. Forestry Service (USFS) is working with ­sustainability experts at the University of Illinois, Western Illinois University (WIU), and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus to investigate the use of wood waste by businesses as a cheaper and renewable source of heat energy. An estimated nine million tons of renewable wood in Illinois could be ­utilized […]

The latest energy gizmo is a battery, about as big as a medium size flat-screen TV that looks good enough to hang on a wall in your home. It could supply backup electricity during a power outage. Or, if you’re the kind of ­person with photovoltaic cells on your roof, you could charge it up […]

At the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives annual ­meeting in Springfield on July 31, U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville, 13th Congressional District) received the 2015 Illinois Electric Cooperatives’ Public Service Award. The award was made in recog­nition of Rep. Davis’ dedicated public service to all ­citizens of the state of Illinois and for outstanding ­contributions […]

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO Jo Ann Emerson joined co-op leaders and officials from the White House Rural Council and the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) in late July to discuss recent progress and potential collaboration on efficiency and renewable energy development. “We had a productive conver­sation about how we can maximize the […]